


Shopping

by quinnfabs



Series: Friendship Writing Challenge [23]
Category: Glee
Genre: Episode: s04e21 Wonder-ful, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 20:13:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3782770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quinnfabs/pseuds/quinnfabs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike and Kurt are better friends after they graduate high school. Such is life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shopping

The combination of his father’s news and singing in the choir room again has left Kurt feeling ecstatic, in a way he hasn’t felt in quite a while, so he blames the positive energy bursting through his veins when he pulls Mike into a hug as they’re exiting the choir room.

Mike looks a little surprised at the contact, but Kurt isn’t offended, he never really initiated affection of this kind. Not to mention the fact they never really talked outside of Kurt asking for dance accompaniment during his solos. They still don’t talk very much, other than Facebook messages and the occasional group text.

Mike smiles as he pulls back from the hug and earnestly tells Kurt how happy he is that his father is okay.

Kurt smiles back, mutters “Thank you” as they walk out into the parking lot.

They’ve reached his car, and Kurt’s reaching for his keys. He turns to Mike to say goodbye, but notices him fidgeting with his sleeve. He asks, gently, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just. Wanted to ask you for a favor.” Mike nervously replies.

Kurt nods for him to continue, so Mike adds, “There’s this girl I like, back at college. I’m supposed to go on a date with her when I get back, but I don’t have anything nice to wear.”

“You don’t seem like the kind of person that needs help with style.” Kurt responds, confused.

“Right. She  _hates_ the whole classic suit and tie look, which sucks because that’s my bread and butter. Other than that, I just wear old t-shirts and jeans. And the occasional cardigan.” Mike rambles, looking dejectedly at Kurt.

Kurt still doesn’t see how that’s a bad thing, casual wear seems appropriate for most guys. Straight guys, anyway. The skepticism clear on his face from his raised eyebrow, prompting Mike to quickly add, “She’s a fashion major. She’s always talking about  _outside_ the box and I have no clue what that even means.” That sentence is all it takes for it to click in Kurt’s mind. It’s pretty common knowledge that Kurt’s working with Vogue after the excited emoji filled messages he sent out the day he got the job, so it makes sense that Mike would come to him.

But he’s still a little uncertain as to why Mike didn’t ask Blaine, or someone else that he was better friends with. Mike just says, “I can’t ask Blaine for advice. He gets too intense about it.”

“You asked him about hair gel, didn’t you?” Kurt replies, knowingly.

Mike laughs, and asks “So is that a yes? You’ll help me?”

“Sure thing, Mike Chang. I’ll never say no to a makeover.” Kurt responds with a slight grin.

Kurt decides they should take their chances at the Lima Mall, because even though a lot of their options are  _deeply_ plebeian, he knows that if they look in the right places it shouldn’t be difficult to find at least a few presentable choices.

They’re in one of the smaller stores, less well known, but Kurt  _knows_ firsthand that they have great pieces, so he drags Mike in.

He’s picking out a pair of tight leather pants, just to mess with Mike, but to his surprise, Mike  _tries them on._ He comes out of the dressing room and gives Kurt a wry look, “Not completely sure if this is my style.”

Kurt’s mouth goes dry and he doesn’t particularly want to hit on the guy, but he can’t help it when he says, “I wouldn’t say that” paired with a wink.

Mike takes it in stride, laughs back, and tells Kurt to try again. “I want to  _impress_  her, not scare her off.”

“Trust me. If she saw you wearing those, she’d be impressed, buddy.” Kurt says, laughing at the way Mike pulls at the sides of the pants.

“That may be true, but I’d also like to be able to move. And breathe. How do you even wear pants this tight without passing out?” Mike asks, taking the other outfit that Kurt somehow magically has in his hands.

“Practice. Dedication. Fashion’s worth the pain, my friend.” Kurt states derisively, as the door closes.

This time, when Mike walks out, Kurt  _knows_ he’s made the right choice. Mike does too, he loves that the outfit is comfortable, yet still impressive. It’s not that much of a stretch from his usual look, but there’s a little something extra there which makes feel like a  _model._ He tells Kurt as much, and Kurt grins, “I  _always_ know what I’m talking about when it comes to clothes.”

He adds, “Besides, if she doesn’t like the clothes you  _could_ just take them off. Abs  _always_ win” just to hear Mike laugh.

Mike does, and says, “New York’s changed you man. You’re so much more…”

“Happy?” Kurt finishes.

“I was going to say comfortable. But happy works too.”

Kurt’s grinning as Mike pays for the clothes, New York  _has_ made him more comfortable. He would have never pseudo flirted with a straight guy before this, at least not intentionally. He knows that Mike is more relaxed than others in this town, and that he’s just teasing, messing around with a friend. But before, he would have been too afraid to ever even  _pretend._ Now, it happens naturally.

They decide to grab a bite to eat before heading out, and Kurt wishes that he took the time to talk to Mike more, when they were still in school together. He’s an easygoing, intelligent guy.

They’re finishing up their burgers, when Mike brings up Blaine. Kurt kind of wants to change the topic, but he hasn’t really gotten the chance to talk to someone about it. Rachel’s good for venting, sometimes, but she never says the right things, never offers Kurt the chance to explain himself. Isabelle helps, but he doesn’t particularly enjoy complaining to his  _boss_ about his love life. Adam was the only other person that Kurt’s really close to, right now in New York, but he knows it’s poor taste to bring up your ex with a guy that you kind of dated.

Kurt knows that he’s forgiven Blaine, and that he doesn’t feel the same kind of dull ache that he felt before when he thinks about what happened. He doesn’t think that he would have been able to spend time with Blaine the way he did at the wedding that wasn’t if he  _hadn’t_ forgiven him, at least to some extent. At the same time, he’s not completely sure if he’ll ever be able to trust Blaine the same, after this. He knows that he could have been more attentive, could have paid more attention to Blaine when they talked, but he also knows that he was thrust into a new world, into a  _job_ and a life that he wasn’t sure he would have, a few months before. The hurt eventually subsided, though. Letting Kurt feel free, and content.

“Love isn’t what I expected” He tells Mike. “I spent so much time believing it would be like the movies, where everything just magically turns out perfectly, no matter what. But I forgot that real life isn’t the movies.”

“I feel like that’s something we all had trouble with.” Mike expresses, a sad tinge to his voice. His and Tina’s break up was more low key than the rest, a product of distance and fading feelings, but it still took a toll on them both.

Kurt nods, and says “I’m over being sad about it, though. I think I just needed time for myself, to figure out my feelings, away from Blaine.”

“And what have you figured out?” Mike asks, interest evident in the full attention he gives Kurt.

“We went from being each other’s everything, to not talking at all, to being this strange in-between. All that has shown me that I need him in my life, in some form.”

Mike smiles, and says, “I know he feels the same way. He’d always call to ask me how to get you to talk to him, before.”

“What would you tell him?”

“To wait for  _you_ to talk to him. That you would when you were ready.”

The conversation fades, after that. Kurt isn’t surprised at how easy Mike is to talk to, how gentle and kindhearted he is.

Kurt drops Mike off at home, and before he leaves, Mike hands him a sketchbook. “A thank you. For helping me out today.”

“When did you even get this?” Kurt asks, surprised.

“I’m very sneaky.” Mike responds, grinning wildly. “I saw you doodling in the corner of a history assignment once, and it was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen. I mean, you probably have tons of sketch pads already, but I just thought it was incredible” he rambles earnestly.

“Thanks, Mike. Let me know how it goes with the fashion major.” Kurt says, smiling at the book.

~~~

A few weeks later, Kurt gets a text message from Mike saying, “you were right, clothes off was way more impressive.” And Kurt can’t help the loud laugh that bubbles out of his mouth as he replies, “Told you, I’m always right when it comes to clothes.”


End file.
